Cloud computing: Opportunities and challenges
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MATTHEW N.O. SADIKU, SARHAN M. MUSA, AND OMONOWO D. MOMOH
e live and operate in the wo rl d of co mp ut i ng a nd computers. The Internet has drastically changed the computing world from the concept of parallel computing to distributed computing to grid computing and now to cloud computing. Cloud computing is a new wave in the field of information technology. Some see it as an emerging field in computer science. It consists of a set of resources and services offered through the Internet. Hence, “cloud computing” is also called “Internet computing.” The word “cloud” is a metaphor for describing the Web as a space where comput computing ing has been preins preinstalle talled d and exists as a service. Operating systems, applications, storage, data, and Digital Obje ct Identifi er 10.1109/MPOT.2013.2279684 10.1109/MPOT.2013.2279684 Date of publication: 7 January 2014
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processing capacity all exist on the Web, ready to be shared among users. Figure 1 shows a conceptual diagram of cloud computing. The main objective of cloud computing is to make better use of distributed resources and solve large-scale computation problems. For example, cloud computing can focus the power of thousands of computers on one problem, enabling researchers to do their work faster than ever. Thus, cloud computing may be regarded as a distributed system that offers computing services via a computer communication network, usually the Internet (TCP/IP). Resources in the cloud are transparent to the users, and the users need not know the exact location(s) of the resources. They can be shared among a large number of users, who should be able to access applications and data from anywhere at anytime. IEEE POTENTIALS
Several corporations and institutions have shown an interest in cloud computing, and many platforms have been proposed. An example of cloud service is Google Apps, which is provided by Google and Microsoft SharePoint. Services are also being pro vided by IBM, HP, Amazon, Apple, Oracle, and Salesforce. These companies own millions of servers and have invested an enormous effort to support cloud computing. At the moment, Google is the largest provider of cloud computing service; it has its own cloud computing platform.
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Architecture Figure 2 shows the cloud computing architecture. The services provided by cloud computing can be divided into three categories. Infrastructure-as-aservice (IaaS): the simplest of cloud computing offer- Fig. 1 Cloud computing. ings. It involves the delivery of huge computing resources such as the capacity of storage, processing, and User network. It is the ability to remotely Front End access computing resources. The maNetwork jor advantages of IaaS are pay per use, security, and reliability. IaaS is also Cloud (Web) Applications SaaS s known as hardware-as-a-service. An s s s I e P c m example of IaaS is the Amazon Elastic s A c i Cloud Software Environment n d A Compute Cloud (EC2). a t PaaS n n h a e c Platform-as-a-service (PaaS): s m e Computational e e M r Storage Communication i c g supports a set of application programs e Resources d v a A i r interface to cloud applications. It has e n A v IaaS r S a A I o M P emerged due to the suboptimal naCloud Software Infrastructure ture of IaaS for cloud computing and Kernel (OS/Apps) the development of Web applications. Many big companies are seeking to Hardware dominate the platform of cloud comFacilities puting, as Microsoft dominated the Service Customer personal computer (PC). Examples of PaaS are Google App Engine and MiCloud-Specific Infrastructure crosoft Azure. Supporting (IT) Infrastructure Software-as-a-service (SaaS): pro vides a service that is directly consumFig. 2 Cloud computing architecture. able by the end user. It is a software deployed over the Internet. This is a payas-you-go service. It seeks to replace the introduced and overlaid on these opportunity for businesses of all sizes. applications running on a PC. A typical architectures. The major advantages of cloud computexample of SaaS is Salesforce.com. ing are on-demand self-service, ubiquiThese service models are useful in cattous network access, location-indepenBenefits and challenges egorizing not only cloud computing but While the benefits of cloud computdent resource pooling, and transference specific vendor offerings, products, and ing are many, its disadvantages are just of risk. Additional advantages include services. As cloud computing becomes as numerous. If used properly, cloud lower costs, ease of utilization, quality mature, several service types are being computing is a technology with great of service, and reliability. •
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The greatest challenges with cloud computing are privacy and security. As data is accessed from any location, users’ privacy can be compromised. Security is also a concern. Information security is about keeping data secret. Handing over confidential information to another company makes some feel unsecure. Vendors, researchers, and security professionals are working on security issues associated with cloud computing. For some applications, latency is another issue with cloud computing. This is the delay from request for data to its ultimate delivery. There is also the problem of a lack of standards. These concerns or challenges are slowing down the adoption of cloud computing.
Opportunities ahead Cloud computing is supported by big companies that hope the investments on cloud computing see a return on investment in the near future. Some examples of emerging cloud computer technology are: Microsoft: Window Live Service, Window Azure Google: Google Docs, Google App Engine Amazon: Amazon Simple Storage Service, Elastic Compute Cloud IBM: Blue cloud Apple: Mobile Me. Cloud computing will provide the dynamic resource pool, the virtualiza•
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tion, and the high usability for the next generation. Successful applications of cloud computing have been implemented at educational institutions. This effort allows researchers to search, find models, and make discoveries faster than ever. The applications of cloud computing are limitless. Potentially, everything from word processing software to customized computer programs could work on a cloud computing system. Cloud computing is expected to change and increase business opportunitiesl in the computing industry.
Conclusions
This article presents a brief loverview l l of cloud computing. Cloud computing is evolving as a key technology for sharing resources via the Internet. Startups and l small and medium businesses are using cloud computing to great advantages. Lack of privacy and security is the main hurdle in the wide adoption of cloud l l computing. We are almost at the beginl l ning of the cloud era; it is hard to predict the impact of cloud computing on society. Cloud computing is not fully mature and needs to be explored.
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D. S. Linthicum, Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterl prise . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison Wesley, 2010. •
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J. Rhoton, Cloud Computing Explained . Boston, MA: Recursive Press, 2010. J. Rosenberg and A. Mateos, The Cloud at Your Service . Greenwich, CT: Manning Publications, 2011. B. Sosinsky, Cloud Computing Bible . Indianaplis, IN: Wiley, 2011. B. Grobauer, T. Walloschek, and E. Stocker, “Understanding cloud computing vulnerabilities,” IEEE Security Privacy, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 50–57 Apr. 2011. Y. Jadeja and K. Modi, “Cloud comarchitecture and chall puting—Concepts, l lenges,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Computing, l l Electronics Electrical Technologies , 2012, pp. 877–880. •
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About the authors Matthew N.O. Sadiku (sadiku@ieee. l org) is a professor at Prairie View A&M l l l lTexas. He is the author of sevUniversity, l eral books and papers. ll l l Sarhan M. Musa (
[email protected]) l l is an associate professor in the Department ll of Engineering Technology at Prairie View A&M University, Texas. He has been the director of Prairie View Networking Academy, Texas, since 2004. He is an LTD Sprint and Boeing Welliver Fellow. l Omonowo D. Momoh (momoh1@ieee. l l l org) is an assistant professor at the College of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science, Indiana University–Purdue l ll University, lFort Wayne.
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